Improvement in corn-planters



' gsi-taten" F. I. ASIIBURN,` OF AVVES'I UNION, yVVES'I VIRGINIA.4Lette/rs.Patent No. 85,7 2.1,'dat'ed January 12, 1869.

IMPROVEMENT CORN-PLANTBRS.

The Schedule referred to in these Letters Patent and making pzujt of thesame.

l reference marked thereon, like letters indicating like parts wherever4they occur.

To enable others' skilled in the art toconstructahd use my invention,1'will proceed to describe it.

This invention relates' to automatic corn-planters,

'and consists in a peculiarcombination of parts, whereby .two kinds ofseed, as corn and beans,

or corn and puinplnnseed,may be-deposited in the same` hill and alsoin'anovel method of attaching a harrow,y so that it will thoroughlypulverize theiearth, and remove all sticks, stones, clods, &c.,'i'romit, leaving it ready to receive the seed, which is deposited through adrilltoothffollowing immediately in the rear of said harrow.

In'the1drawings-- Figure 1 is a side elevation of my planter.

Figure 2, a longitudinal vertical section on the line '--Figure 3, aview of the seed-hopper detached.

Figure4, a view of the bed upon which the seedslideplays, detached; l

Figure 5, a bottom pla'n view.

My machine' consists of a frame, A, formed of theA central beam a, theside-pieces g, and cross-bar, p, al1

framed together as shown in fig. 5, the end of the piece a. extendingSome distance forward of the remainder of the frame,.and being curvedupward, as seen in iigs. 1 and 2, thus forming the',..beam' or ltongueof the machine, t'oA which the horse is attached, the 'rear endof thisbeam extending back` to and being tenoned 'into the cross-harp.

To the uppers'de of -this `frame Ais secured the iiat bed or table E,nearly as wide as the machine, and standing at an angle of from thirtydegrees to forty-rive degrees to the frame, and being supported at therear. end by an upright resting on the upper side of cross-bar p, as

'shown in iig, 1.

This table E, I provide with two slides, H and I, the slide H being theseed-slide for conveying the seed from the hopper D to the upper end ofthe tube M, through' which the seed drops into and through thedrill-tooth L, into the furrow made by the said tooth, the other slide Ibeing for the purpose of preventing the iiow of seed when it is notdesired to plant, as when turning the machine -around at the end of thefield.

In the rear end of the frame A, back of the drilltooth, -is mounted aroller, G, which serves the twoibid purpose of supporting the rear endof the machine and regulating the depth to which the drill-tooth shall yenter the ground, and of covering the seed deposited in the fu'nowthrough it.

One of the journals of this roller has secured to it a ina curved slot,g,

'attached a pin or bolt,

crank, t', as shown in figs. l and 5, this crank playing in the lower.end of the bent lever K, which leveris pivoted near its middle to thestandardwhich supports the table lE, and is, forked at its upper end toreceive the pin 71, on the side of the seedslide H, so. that, as theroller() is revolved, the crank i, will cause the lever K to vibrate andgive to the seed- Islide H a reciprocating motion upon the table E.

The seed-slide H is provided with two openings, lr, the size of whichmay be varied by adjusting the slides m, which are slotted and providedwith the set-screws p, as shown in fig. 4, these' openings lr being forthe purpose of receiving the grain from the seed-hopperD,

.and conveying it to the tube M at the centre ,of the machine', andconnected with the drill-tooth-L.

The ho'pper4 D is provided with a partition through the middle, in aline running lengthwise of the machine, andwhichdivides the hopper into'two divisions or compartments, one of which is intended to contain ythecorn, and the other, the beans and pumpkin or other seed to be plantedwith it.

The hopper hastwol openings in its bottom, one in each compartment, and-the hopper is so situated on the machine that when the slide is at theextreme limit oi' its downward movement, the openings/rin it shallbedirectly under the openings in the hopper', one under each compartmentofthe hopper, and when the slide is at the end of its upward movement,the 'openings fr are brought directly over the upper end of the tube M.

On the under side of the frame A, in front of the drill-tooth, issecured a harrow, B, consisting of 'a straight bar, armed withdrag-teeth, and being pivoted on the middle tooth, which passes upthrough the bar a, and is secured by a nut on its upper end, the toothbeing braced also by a metal strap, J, secured to the drill-tooth, andextending forward, and being secured to the front end offrame A.l n

The harrow, thus constructed, may be turned upon' its pivot so as tostand diagonally across the frame in either direction, so as to carrythe clods, sticks, stones, 8vo., to eitherside, as desired.

To hold this harrow in position after being adjusted, i

there is attached to it, on the rear side, a semicircular piece, c, asshown in gs. 1, 2, and 5, which is provided with holes, n, and to theinner en'd ofthe lever Gr is e, which passes down throughthe beam a, andwhen the holes n are brought beneath it,'this bolt may -be shoved downinto them by raising lever G, thus locking the harrow in'position.

By throwing the lever Gr down, this bolt is raised and the harrowunlocked, when it may be swun'g around and locked in the oppositeposition..

The lever G has an upwardlyextending arm, d, which is forked to receivea stud/ secured to the under side of the slide I, 'so that when thelever G is raised to imlock the harrow, it'will:at the same, time, shutoi the iiow of seed from the hopper.

The machine is provided with handlesli, similar to those of a plow, forthe purpose'of guiding and handy seed. The machine is then drawn acrossthe field,

when it will drop77 once ateac'h revolution of the roller.

When the en d ofthe field is reached, the handle G is thrown down,shutting off the iiow of seed, and releasing the harrow. The machine isthcn turned around and the harrow locked in the opposite position tothat in which it stood during the previous passage across, thus alwaysthrowing the rubbish to the same side of the furrow.

It is obvious that any desired number of holes n may be made in theharrow, and thus allow it to be locked at any angle across the frame.

The crank 'i and the lever K are shown as playing in an opening or slotthrough the side-piece of the frame, but it is evident that they mayeither do this or be placed outside of' the frame, the only object of'the arrangement -showu being to prevent their catching in the rubbisl orbrush that might accidentally come in contact with them.

The slot g is so curved that the slide shall remain stationary-for aninstant when at the end of the upstroke, so as to insure the dischargeof all the seed from it into the pipe M. l

A machine of this construction possesses many advantages not incident toothers, among which are its adaptability to any kindof soil, thesimplicity and ef' liciency of the mechanism, and the harrow so arrangedthat it will always throw the stones, Ste., to the same side' of thefurrow, and the slides, being all covered by .the board or covering l,are protected from injury by dirt or stones falling on the machine. Andnot only may two kinds of seed be planted in one hill, but theirrelative quantities varied at will.

Having thus described my invention,

That I claim, isl l. In combination with a seed-planter, the reversibleharrow B and lever G, when constructed and arranged to operatesubstantially as described, and for the purpose set forth. Y

2. The hopper D, plate E, slide H, and lever K, when constructed'andarranged to operate substantially as described, in combination with thecovering roller C, for the purpose set for-th.

3. In combination with the hopper D and drill-tooth L, the plate E, withits slides H and I, when constructed and arranged to operatesubstantially as described.

v F. J. ASHBRN.

Witnesses:

J osnPH OHENORONT,

JOHN DYE.

